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We have 17 gifts for you today, or rather, 17 intriguing facts about call centers!

You may know a few of these already, but trust us: It never hurts to revisit some of the pivotal advancements, trends, stats, and interesting facts that have made waves in the call center industry (both past and present). With the “era of the customer” in full swing; the increase in customer expectation for omnichannel communication; and the never-ending developments in communication methods through AI-powered self-service; it is easy to overlook the importance that the call center plays in the customer experience.

Although customers begin their service journey with self-service before contacting an agent, the reality is that once self-service fails (which it does when the support issue is too complex, or when the stakes are higher for the customer), customers will take to their phones to resolve their issues. So, there is a limit to self-service, which will always lead the customer back to the loving arms of the call center.

Without further ado, here are some surprising, fundamental, and/or entertaining stats about the call center, a customer service lifesaver that is here to stay:

This post was supposed to be about the “Top Contact Center Acquisitions of 2018”, but two significant deals occurred in the last two weeks, and I didn’t want to wait another year to include them on the list. Plus, we already published a blog on “5 Intriguing Call Center Acquisitions from the First Half of 2018”, so there was no point in repeating some of the deals that were covered in that post.

We continue to see a very active M&A market in the contact center space. Sometimes people call this “consolidation,” but I think that oversimplifies the motivations behind these deals.

We are indeed. It’s a modern reality where customers call the shots, armed with the knowledge that they have options. This includes their expectation of a certain level of customer experience, one that is seamless, omnichannel, and with bot offerings. In fact, according to Forrester, today’s “consumers have more tech at their disposal than ever before and it has fundamentally changed how they experience brands.” With more than 50% of companies already using chatbots, and 80% of businesses wanting chatbots by 2020 ( says Oracle), bots have been, and will be, rapidly transforming the customer service and customer experience landscape, especially in retail. In an article by Retail Dive, “Juniper estimates that by 2023 over 70% of chatbots accessed will be retail based.” Think about how many digital assistants, chatbots, and IVR’s that actually refers to, and in what capacity.

At a healthy 75 years’ old, the Scandinavian born-and-bred brand has well surpassed middle-age and earned its place among retail royalty, continuing to thrive and expand its utilitarian-while-whimsical offerings into the online world. Its products are nestled in households across the globe. Phrases from its brilliantly funny ads have crawled into common parlance. IKEA isn’t simply a store: It’s a cultural force.

IKEA’s long-running epic success is the result of its allegiance to a specific set of principles that guide its every move: To nurture loyalty, a company must dare to be a fixture at every stage of customers’ lives. It must consider their every want and desire. It must meet their needs with products, online and in-store experiences, and customer service offerings.

The proof is in the pudding: Loyal consumers continue to flock to the imposing blue mecca in their town centers (and soon, urban centers) because of IKEA’s ability to hold a customer’s familiar hand throughout their lifetime. With seven decades under its belt, the company has much to teach us about how offering powerful customer experiences can make a brand a force to be reckoned with.

For decades, companies have turned to Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) as a way to cut costs and create efficiencies. This is especially true in the call center space where the term “BPO” is often used interchangeably with “outsourced call center”. In the last few years, the call center outsourcing industry has seen revenues crossing $140 billion. This growth is expected to continue, with Cushman Wakefield predicting 6% yearly growth up to 2020.

At the same time, other major changes are impacting BPOs, namely: emerging technologies; a rising demand for re-shoring; and a surge in the number of customer communications channels used by businesses. A natural question that emerges from this scenario is: What will the BPO of the future look like?

Welcome to January, a time that kick-starts a new year and inspires us to improve, grow, and set goals. This goes for contact center managers and agents as well; for them, January is certainly “reach for the stars and crush your goals” month (as is every month!).

We at Fonolo are certainly here to help them out on their overall journeys in 2019, this time by offering a rundown of the lessons we learned from the industry last year.

Outsourcing work is appealing for many reasons: It can save your business money, resources, and under the right circumstances, a serious headache. Almost any element of a company can be outsourced, anything from data entry to graphic design. However, the decision becomes more complicated when outsourcing means that another company will be in interacting with your customers. This is certainly the case with call centers.

Contracting out your call center can cut overheads significantly, but poor service could lead to a mass departure of customers. As a result, it’s important to carefully weigh the pros and cons of outsourcing.

The reality is that outsourcing is not a one-size-fits-all solution. In this blog, you’ll find three of the most notable pros and cons of outsourcing a call center. These pros and cons will help you decide if outsourcing is the right choice for your business.

2018 was a big year for the contact center industry. Major product launches, intriguing acquisitions, new entrants, re-emerging giants. Added to the mix were the frustrating dalliance with AI, the quasi-melding with CRM, the embrace of chatbots, and the rise of RPA. All juicy topics worth exploring.

We’re going to dive into all of the above on our blog this year, along with our usual coverage of industry reports, public company earnings, fun posts about call center life, findings from our sister site OnHoldWith.com, webinars, hangouts, Fonolo news (of course), and more.

135 blog posts. Over 5000 Twitter followers. New initiatives. A new platform. New patents. New partnerships. New customers. It has been a busy, extraordinary year for Fonolo’s growth across channels and industries, made possible by the ongoing hard work of our dedicated employees, partners, and clients. What drives us is our deep belief in strengthening customer service and customer experience for call centers and contact centers across North America, and the knowledge that our solutions are making customers happier than ever.

December has arrived, which means different things for different people. While many of us are gearing up to slow down and spend quality time with family and friends, retail companies are bracing themselves for the clamor and chaos of the holiday season. From Black Friday to Cyber Monday to Boxing Day, this season signals a momentous time when consumers across the globe are ready and willing to spend, spend, spend.

Since most companies can anticipate a significant peak in sales during the final few months of the year, they can also anticipate a spike in customers, and in turn, a big increase in service requests. Here are a few things every retail company can do to maintain a high level of customer service and ensure that the momentum gained is maintained this festive season both in-store and online.